Keeping young with the elders

I won't pussyfoot around it....we're all going to get there...






















so when I got to visit this well staffed nursing home, I was pleased to see our elders enjoying several rounds of Bingo,with sharp-eyed ladies on every count.















Most were getting too old to enjoy life, but their quiet rectitude and keeping to their scheduled fun, seemed to do the trick.




And to have a quiet loving companion, named Mignon - a 6-toed furball, so Hemingwayesque!



































what could be better?

Getting back in the game....

Winter can be a little quiet...

Fall into winter, dropped leaves







and finding
yourself stuck in a no go zone.








We've got it made in the shade in California winterwise.




Camelias





and magnolia bursting forth.































Get me to the Vet's garden for a bird visit
and some greens or 'vore for the locals.





























This pesky little squirrel zipped in n' out, with a fast dash





seconds flat.





























Since this vet's garden is on government property, it becomes a sub station for the police who I think were gearing up to tell the LAUSD workers just where to take their protest.


And it is a little like, 'Don't ask, don't tell them what to do...'
Law always wins.

Year of the Tiger - Chinatown, Los Angeles

The Chinese New Year is celebrated sometime mid - January to Mid February, because it follows the lunar calendar.




The Chinese celebrate with food, dragon parades and the exchange of red envelopes for prosperity.











The Year of the Tiger is this year's motif.





































































































Sweet flowers for Valentines Day.





My tiger, Vera does not have any of the Chinese characteristics - suspicious, emotional but remains a calm and humble cat, albeit supremely content in the sun.



Twilight to evening for a glorious long weekend...

Ballona wetlands tour

The Ballona wetlands are preserved marshlands adjacent to Playa del Rey - a wonderful landing spot on the Pacific flyway.


In 2003, the state purchased 192 acres and also got 291 acres from the Playa Vista development. A comprehensive restoration plan by the Coastal Conservancy was created.

From their dunes to the walk through to the tidal areas where plovers, great egret, and blue heron, we walk and talk with volunteers.




































Biologists serve up plankton

and draw us into










Lemonberry, sagebrush and a selection of the natural
























































































phenomenon....ladybugs included.

El Niño

I'm not complaining really....but El Niño is definitely drenching us.





























































Not that the 20 inches of rain is insignificant,





far more than a drop, I'd say.









and so gently filling our water basins...
















It's the pile on effect....and the slides we may expect as we wend our way through an accumulative state 'o rain.


Ok, the really sad thing is .... aside from the utter devastation in Haiti...is that it killed my camera....

One last burst into the elements and poof, it went down.


To be continued....